Childhood Christmas
by PhoenixTears25
Summary: Oneshot Sequel to Babyshoes. Four year olds Tallulah's christmas with the whole gang. PLS R


**Title: **Childhood Christmas

**Author: **PhoenixTears25

**Rating: **T

**Summary: **Tallulah's first Christmas with the entire gang and her first one where Kai is her caretaker. Oneshot, small sequel to _Babyshoes

* * *

_

Kai could feel the cold chilly Christmas air come into his bedroom as the door was opened, the heating in his room had been on all night and once his bedroom door was opened there was no chance he could get the room warm again.

The soft shuffling of a four year old padded towards his large double bed and climbed onto the mattress.

He could feel her tiny body sink into the bed as she climbed towards him as he lay on the other side curled in a small ball.

Tallulah's tiny hand patted Kai on the shoulder and then she ran a cold finger across his cheek as she poked him.

Tallulah decided that it was best to get under the covers and did so with great effort as the bed covers surrounded Kai's body.

She pressed her small body against his wide back and tried to wrap her arms around his waist with little success.

Kai slept in a pair of loose fitting pants and a t-shirt.

Tallulah's hand crept under his shirt on his back and he moved away in total shock at the icy feeling of her hand.

She giggled and withdrew her hand.

"Tallulah I'm sleeping" he said gruffly in a half yawn as he covered his head with the covers.

But Tallulah was having none of this late morning sleep and climbed on top of him and blew into his ear which caused Kai to give a growl and in retaliation he flipped her onto her back, lifted up her own shirt and blew on her belly.

She chuckled and laughed as she screamed for him to get off.

He finally did stop and went back to his side of the bed and covered his head once more with the covers.

"Tula say it bweakfast time" she said as she watched him, she poked his shoulder and head.

"I'll eat later" Kai hoarsely said.

"Why Kai sleepy?" she asked as she moved closer to his face and stared at him through her large blue eyes.

"Because _Kai_ had a late night"

Tallulah tilted her head to the side.

"What you do?"

Again there was a growl from the young adult, "Uncle Tala and Uncle Bryan made me compete in a competition that's what"

"What's a comepitithin?"

Kai removed the covers from his head and stared at her too cute face and pressed her button nose and she giggled.

"What did Tula say we're having for breakfast" asked Kai as he sat up and yawned, running a hand through his shaggy hair.

"Eggs and bacon!" the small child exclaimed as she jumped up and down on the bed in excitement at the treat for breakfast.

Kai frowned, was it Sunday already?

Checking his clock Kai saw that it was only Monday, Christmas eve, so why the special breakfast?

There was a loud crash and someone shouting and this is what caused Kai to remember why the special breakfast.

The entire gang was here for Christmas and Tula was preparing a large breakfast with the help of Ray, Kai also remembered that after the breakfast they were supposed to be heading to the ice rink.

* * *

The rest of the house was in full buzz early in the morning.

Tula and Ray where preparing breakfast while Max and Tyson helped set up the table in the dining room.

Hilary was busy making herself pretty in one of the bathrooms and Tala and Bryan where playing a game of cards on the kitchen table.

Suddenly Tallulah came bouncing in dressed in her Winnie-the-pooh t-shirt and her pink jeans, her tigger socks made her slip as she came in, she was dragging a pajama wearing Kai who looked fed up.

Tala and Bryan looked up at their friend and sniggered.

"Was last night too much for you then?" asked Tala, as he watched Kai sit down next to him and lay his head on the table.

Kai grunted and sat up as a hot mug of coffee was placed in front of him, he looked up to see Ray smiling at him.

"What are looking at" Kai growled as he sipped his coffee.

It was then that Kai caught sight of what Ray was wearing; he wore an apron of daisies over his normal clothing.

"What are you wearing Kon" asked Kai.

"I like it and besides it's not like its ever going to be worn" said Ray as he handed Tula three eggs.

Tula smiled and turned to her adopted brother, "I like a man in an apron" she teased and everyone caught sight of Ray's blush.

"I heard someone break something before I came down here?" said Kai as he gulped down the coffee.

"Oh that was Tyson, him and Max are setting the table inside" explained Ray.

"So what did they break this time?" asked Kai.

The others shared a glance and then Tula smiled warmly, "A vase"

Kai looked up and looked at their worried expressions, he growled, "Which vase"

"C'mon Kai its Christmas Eve you can't punish them" Ray said quickly.

"_Which_ vase" Kai said harder as he stood up now, the legs of the chair scraping on the floor as he did so.

Then as if on cue Tallulah bounced into the kitchen holding a large piece of the broken vase and handed it to Kai.

He stared at it for some time and then glared at the others and thumped the piece on the table, a deep rumble in his throat.

"TYSON!"

* * *

"My mothers vase" Kai mumbled as he slumped back onto his bed, he was tired, he had a small hang over, Tyson and Max had just broken something and he still hadn't had a shower.

"Oh Kai you would be happy if it was something that belonged to Voltaire" said Tula as she watched Kai on his bed.

"That not the point" argued Kai as he sat up looking at her fifteen year old self.

"Well you can't punish them surely; it's the day before Christmas"

Kai looked down at his feet.

Yes it was the day before Christmas and his friends where here with him to celebrate something he never really understood.

"Now go have a shower and get ready to go to the rink"

Kai glanced at her, she was wheelchair confined and he hated doing things that she could not participate in.

She saw the look and understood completely, "Don't give me that look, you promised Tallulah that you would teach her how to ice skate and now the time to do so, so no excuses"

Kai grumbled as he headed into the bathroom, he started the shower and was about to close the bathroom door when Tula stared at him.

"Alright we'll go, but those two had better not break anything else while we're gone"

"Who says you're going alone"

"What!"

* * *

"How far away is the rink?" asked Ray as he and the others got ready, awaiting their fearless leader to come downstairs.

"Oh not far, you've probably never been there since you've had no reason to go there" said Tula as she watched them.

"I've been there, my dad used to take me and Heero there" said Tyson as he placed his boots on.

"When was the last time you were there?" asked Max.

"Few years, its all been really hectic since the championships and going back to school" explained Tyson.

The boys had gone back to school and where in their first year of college, they also taught beyblading on the side for extra cash.

"Well I'm sure it'll be fun" said Ray.

Tala and Bryan glanced at Ray and nudged each other.

"I bet you've never been on ice" said Tala.

"What makes you say that?"

"The first timers always think it'll be fun until they fall flat on their faces" sniggered Bryan as he tucked his scarf in his jacket.

Hilary came into the room wearing her pink and purple combo with Tallulah following her hair had been plaited and she wore a similar purple combination.

"Tallulah I think Hilary's copying you" joked Tyson.

"Oh shut it Tyson" said Hilary and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Tallulah looked around and frowned, "Kai?"

"He's getting ready" explained Tula as she smiled, Tallulah nodded and climbed onto her lap.

And just as this was said Kai came down the stairs, wearing his usual winter outfit except his white scarf was missing and this everyone found odd.

"Tula where's my scarf?" he asked.

"In the wash, Tallulah painted it remember?"

Kai thought for a moment and then nodded, "well are going or not"

As they left Tyson turned to Ray and opened his mouth to speak but Ray raised his hand to stop him and said, "Don't even ask".

* * *

The ice rink wasn't busy and was rather quiet, the lights streamed on the white ice and the music was soft and not too loud.

Getting their skates Kai, Tala and Bryan where first to be ready with their black skates on.

Ray looked and noted how Kai seemed to move in them rather naturally.

Once on the ice all chaos was released.

Tyson and Max were ok skaters, they held onto each other as they moved on the side of the rink.

Tala and Bryan where naturals on the ice as they moved with a certain flow.

Hilary moved like a ballerina and ran circles around Tyson and Max.

But it was Kai, who Ray noted, was the most relaxed on the ice, he came past Ray a dozen of times and finally pushed him on the small of his back into the center of the rink.

"Kai take me back" Ray said as he almost lost his balance.

"Best way to learn something new is too be thrown into the deep end" said Kai as he twirled in front of Ray.

Ray scoffed and was waving his arms suddenly as his balance was almost lost but Kai caught his hand and placed his hands on Ray's shoulder to hold him steady.

"Center yourself; it's just like roller blading"

"Something I've never done" groaned Ray as he did as he was told.

Kai let go of Ray and moved away, Ray stared at his friend and Kai beckoned him to take a step forward as Ray slide his skate forward he lost his center and fell on his knees.

Kai helped him up and took hold of Ray's hand and closed the fingers to make a fist, "Remember when you fall make a fist or you'll end up leaving with less fingers then with what you came with".

Kai was moving further and further away from Ray when Ray realized that he was going to leave him on his own.

"Where are you going?"

"To my other pupil, now don't forgot…center yourself" and he was gone.

* * *

There were two rinks and the children's rink was much smaller then the adults, this was where Kai had disappeared to.

Tallulah wasn't bad at keeping her balance and hung onto Kai's jacket as he moved around in the children's rink.

He could feel that he was doing all the work as she just held on for the ride of being pulled all over the place.

Kai finally convinced her that it was better if she let him go and skated on her own; he stood outside of the children's rink and watched as she wobbled and moved fearlessly.

Kai would move to go to her every time she fell but she always picked herself back up and carried on.

When she suddenly fell and Kai saw that she wasn't picking herself up and was crying.

Kai jumped over the wall and skated to her and could see specks of blood on the ice.

He picked her up and carried her to the outside.

Sitting her at a table Kai saw that her chin had come in contact with the ice and had cut under her chin deeply.

A first aid came and got her cleaned up saying that she might need some stitches which made her cry even more.

Kai said that he would take her to the hospital to get her seen too and Tula can get them all home in one piece.

* * *

The hospital was crowded with emergencies and the very thought of being in one made Kai's stomach churn.

He watched as they numbed where the cut was and he held her small hand as he watched them put in four stitches.

Her tears had stopped and the nurses gave her a lollipop and a certificate of bravery which had a teddy on it.

The two were walking towards the bus stop, well Kai was walking and Tallulah was being carried by him.

There wasn't much said as they took the ride on the bus, Kai could feel her fall asleep and wondered whether she would last the day.

Getting off at their stop, Kai carried her all the way to the mansion type house and up the courtyard and finally the door opened and there the entire gang stood waiting.

Kai growled, "Someone take her before my arms fall off".

Ray took hold of the small child as she slept and watched as Kai rubbed his arms.

"Did you walk the whole way?" asked Max as he handed Kai some hot chocolate and they all moved to the large living room, where a fireplace was lit.

"Yes"

"Why, if you'd phoned we could have come and picked you up" said Tala, annoyed by Kai's stubbornness of never showing he needed help.

Kai collapsed into his own chair and sighed, his eyes closed he sat there in silence before he sat up and kicked off his shoes and jacket and got a little bit more comfortable.

"Because I know for a fact that Tyson, Max has not passed their drivers exam, Tala and Bryan can't drive here, Ray is too busy cooking and Hilary probably complain that her feet hurt too much".

Kai was right of course, Tyson and Max had failed their exams three times and the other two were unable to drive in foreign country, and of course Ray was too busy preparing Christmas Eve dinner.

"What about me?" asked Tula

Kai did not even glance at her.

"You haven't completed the course".

"What course?" asked Hilary.

"I've had a car fitted her paraplegics that allows people like me to drive, I just have to finish the course for it and then pass the test" explained Tula.

"But aren't you a bit young to start driving anyway?" asked Tyson.

"Yeah sure but its fun and very useful"

Kai stared at the fire and yawned.

"What time did you get back from the rink?"

"A few minutes ago, Ray finally knows how to skate" answered Max.

Kai glanced at Ray and saw a triumphant look on his face.

"Tala and Bryan helped, they said exactly the same thing as you did about going into the deep end".

Kai nodded.

"So now what?" asked Tyson.

"Its snowing, anyone for a snowman? Tobogganing? Snowball fight?" asked Max.

"Tobogganing?" asked Tala, unsure of the word and its meaning.

"_Sani" _Kai explained saying sleigh instead of toboggan so that Tala and Bryan would understand.

Everyone decided to go outside for a while and play in the deep white snow.

* * *

Hilary sat in the warm living room with her feet up reading a romance novel Tula lent her.

When the most delicious smell emitted from the kitchen and Hilary decided to go find out what Ray was up too.

Placing her book mark in her book Hilary headed into the kitchen to see Ray watching something in the oven.

"What are you cooking?" she asked him.

"A roast chicken" he answered as he stood up.

"Oh, why are you making the dinner and not the others?"

"Because Kai asked me too and besides its fun"

Hilary sat down and he followed.

"Why didn't you ask Mai to come down with you for Christmas?"

"I did but she declined, they don't really celebrate Christmas like we do"

"I don't understand?"

"Its not part of their religious practice, but it is part of Kai, Tala, Bryans, Tula and I guess now Tallulah's"

Hilary nodded understanding.

Then Tallulah walked into the kitchen rubbing her eyes as she had just woken up from a long nap.

"Whewe Kai?"

"Outside, how's your chin?" asked Hilary, picking the small child and placing her onto her lap.

"It fine" said Tallulah and wriggled out of Hilary's grasp and made her way to the back door of the kitchen which led directly into the large garden.

"Don't forget your jacket" said Hilary as she picked up Tallulah's pink jacket and helped put it on the small child.

Dressed and ready she opened the door and the kitchen was suddenly washed over with icy wind and snow.

* * *

A snowball fight was under way, with Tala, Bryan and Kai on one team and Tyson and Max on the other team; they were as normal the underdogs.

Kai hid behind a tree when he heard Tallulah call his name and a snowball was in his face, he heard cheers and the small girl's familiar chortle.

Tallulah had thrown a snowball into Kai's face because Tyson had told her too and everyone was now laughing.

Kai made another snowball and threw it Tyson whose mouth had been wide open.

"Kai we make snowman?" asked the small girl as she tugged at his jacket.

He nodded and everyone got busy making a snowman, it was almost finished and Hilary had come outside with some objects they could use for the face and a scarf.

Kai picked Tallulah up so that she could put the eyes on the snowman when there was a loud call and Tyson and Max came down a small hill in the garden on a toboggan and where headed straight towards the snowman.

Kai and the others moved away quickly but Tallulah was upset by the destruction of her snowman who she had dubbed 'Buddy'.

"We'll make another one later, right now it's a getting a bit too cold" said Kai and everyone headed inside for some late lunch.

On the kitchen table was an assortment of biscuits and five mugs of steaming hot chocolate.

Tula sat there waiting for them sipping her own mug and smiled when she saw them come in snow covered and freezing.

"Wow Ray that smells awesome" complimented Tyson as he sat down on a chair in the kitchen.

"Well it's your dinner for tonight, roast chicken, roast potatoes, salmon and lots of vegetables" said Ray.

"Ray's been slaving over a hot stove all afternoon so be grateful" said Tula smiling.

Tallulah went to Ray and hugged his leg as she sniffed, still upset over what had just happened.

"What's wrong?" Ray asked as he picked her up.

"Dumb and Dumber knocked over the snowman we were building" explained Tala, he was frustrated with those two.

"You know half the time I think they do it on purpose" said Bryan.

"We do not, it was an accident" argued Tyson.

"Well two accidents in one day are not good, are you trying to break a record" said Kai as he watched Tallulah being held in Ray's arms.

"It's been a long day, why don't we try and relax and later we can bicker" said Tula as she watched Kai glare at Tyson and Max in irritation.

"Your right, I'm sorry Tallulah I didn't mean to break Buddy" apologized Tyson and Max.

Tallulah nodded and wiped her eyes looking over at them and pointed, "But you make one latew" she ordered.

They chuckled, "Yes we'll make one again later"

* * *

Tallulah lay in Kai's arms as he sat in front of the fire in his chair, she lay on top of him in his arms under a warm blanket half asleep.

It was late now and everyone was feeling tired and ready for bed.

Kai had his eyes closed as he felt her body rise and fall as she breathed deeply, his arms around her he sat there.

This is what he enjoyed, moments like these when everything and everyone was at peace.

Ray looked over at them and smiled, he took out his cell phone and snapped a photo of them together and smiled as he looked over at it.

Kai opened his eyes too see Ray there with his cell phone out and couldn't help but smirk.

Ray saw that Kai was awake and walked closer to them.

"Do you want me to take her too bed?" he asked.

Kai shook his head and stood up holding her, the blanket falling to the floor.

"I'll do it; you can lay out the gifts. Goodnight Ray"

Kai placed her duvet on her bed and switched on her night-light which was of the shape of Goofy.

He moved to leave when he heard her call his name.

He moved back to her bed and saw her blue eyes stare at him.

"Is Santa coming tonight?" she asked.

Kai nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Only when you're fast asleep" he said.

Tallulah nodded and shut her eyes.

"Goodnight Tallulah"

He made it too the door when he heard her whisper, "night pa"

* * *

Tallulah crept out of her bed….

Down the passage…

Past Kai's bedroom…

Down the stairs…

And into the living room…

A tree which had been decorated a few weeks ago sat alight, and around the huge tree was mountain of gifts all in different paper and colours.

Tallulah grinned and ran out of the living room, up the stairs and straight into Kai's room.

The door flew open and banged against the opposite wall; she jumped onto Kai's bed and shook him awake.

"Santa came, Santa came!" she shouted as she jumped on his bed.

"Alright, alright just stop jumping" groaned Kai as he sat up, to check the time, he saw that it was five in the morning.

Groaning loudly Kai rubbed his eyes and stretched and decided that since he was awake he might as well get up.

"Why don't you go wake up the others" Kai said to her and she nodded and ran out the room ecstatically.

Kai chuckled and headed towards the shower.

* * *

Everyone sat in their chairs holding their coffee and table; they all sat around the Christmas tree, after wishing each other Merry Christmas everything had settled, all except Tallulah.

"Open mine first" said Hilary as she handed the gift Hilary had given Tallulah for Christmas.

Tallulah did so with great fun, and found rag doll which had been Hilary's as a child.

This gift opening had gone on for sometime with Tyson giving her pink and purple Beyblade, Max giving her a pair of fairy wings, Tula gave her a tutu, Tala gave her a princess tiara and Bryan gave her a princess high heels.

Tallulah loved all her gifts but was most overwhelmed by Kai's.

A hand crafted jewelry box with a fairy on it and a unicorn engraved, she opened the box and the box began to sing, the very same tune that Kai sings to her.

She dropped it and hugged Kai around his neck.

"Fank you pa, I wuv you" she cried.

Kai held her tightly and everyone could see the tears glisten in his eyes and all felt their hearts melt.

It was also the very first time they had all heard Tallulah call Kai 'Pa'.

Tallulah left his side and ran up to her bedroom and ran down almost tripping along the way to bring a large poster and handed it to him.

It was a poster with a drawing of everyone.

Kai could see that their bodies were too small and their heads to big, he saw Tala's flaming red hair and Max's golden locks.

Everyone looked over it and could see the picture of Kai holding Tallulah and their large smiles.

"Hey where's me!?" demanded Tyson.

Tallulah frowned and pointed to the tiny black speck near Max's hip.

* * *

END!!!!

I absolutely loved this! It was so fun to write!


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